Especially when she equates coal mining to rape. Hell, she equates everything to rape.

Except unlike the GOPs failure to understand female biology or human emotion whenever they mention rape, saying Mountain Top Removal is rape of the land is actually pretty much spot on. Plunder and despoliation (for instance of land) is actually one of the definitions of the word "rape".

The GOP doesn't understand that at least 50% of the population thinks rape is bad.

My view from ground level is this: the single biggest issue killing Dems in Kentucky is coal. Yes, the state is genuinely rural and conservative rather than being gerrymandered that way; and yes, religion is a big issue. But at the end of the day, what the voters here are actually responding to and voting over right now is economics. The coal industry is faltering and people are scared to death. Any strategy to unseat Mitch has to begin with an awareness of that.

Grimes is in a good position. She's essentially a Clinton Democrat- and that's still fairly popular in the state. She's not been in office long, so she doesn't have much of a legislative trail for both good and ill; but so far she seems to be loudly pushing economic expansion and diversification for the state... while quietly pushing along social issues that can be framed as freedom/rights expansions every chance she gets (which also neatly takes advantage of the recent pseudo-libertarian wave on the right around here, splitting the local right-wing).

No, she's not as far to the left as Judd. But she may be as far to the left as you can get, and be elected statewide in Kentucky. That's how you beat McConnell, and that's how you start making Dems more electable in the state again.

Gestalt:I'd rather Ashley Judd doesn't run but it's more a matter of the same problem as Rand Paul -- I feel like some small debt of public service is owed before you ask to run for national politics. Run for city council if you have to but atleast prove to me you have some experience at being a public servant.

You don't consider her efforts as an activist to be public service? Can public service only be done by working for the government?

tnpir:Don't be so certain that Ashley Judd would have no chance of winning. It's entirely possible McConnell is going to get primaried (there have been rumblings) and have to spend a shiat-pot of money to retain the nomination. And if history is our guide, it's not outside the realm of possibility that McConnell could get primaried and lose to a bat-shiat crazy Angle/O'Donnell/Akin/Mordock teabagger, which with her likely fundraising abilities could put the seat in play.

Granted, it's quite the uphill battle, but it's not impossible.

I think the move for Democrats is to try to get McConnell primaried by donating money to the looniest of derpster primary challengers and then donating money to Judd. She may lose but McConnell will no longer be minority leader and the derper moran will be a freshman senator with far less influence that McTurtle.

It's not like Lundergan-Grimes can't run either. Even in a primary Judd is useful. She still makes McConnell waste tons of cash, and in the event it appears Lundergan-Grimes looks to be the one to take him on in the general, Judd can de-escalate, step aside, endorse Grimes, and McConnell will have still blown through millions for nothing.

This isn't even taking into account a possible primary challenge for McConnell himself.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Blue Dogs assume that any Democrat to the left of Genghis Khan has no chance of winning, so they set about sabotaging their own candidates for fear of being called liberal. If you're a Democrat, even if you don't think your candidate has a chance, why in the fark out you put out comments like this that are tailor-made for Republican attack ads? Why in the fark would you shoot your own candidate in the foot before she has even declared her candidacy? Because these are idiot hand-wringing Blue Dogs and that's just what they do. They're too afraid of their own shadows to actually stand with their party.

SploogeTime:McConnell sucks. Ashley unqualified. BUT, I will take her stained blue panties with the UK insignia. I'd rather vote for Uncle Rukus.

She is not unqualified as far as I know. She is of the minimum age, an American citizen, and resides in the state. Those three things, plus getting oneself elected, are the only qualifications there are.

I don't know if Judd could win, but I think they just want her for troll bait. The more attention she gets in the media the harder it'll be for Limbaugh and the derp brigade to keep from calling her a slut or saying she should be raped or something horrible.

To this day they still get pissed off at Sandra Fluke for making them say sexist shiat about her. "Oh come on! How did you expect us NOT to call her a slut? THIS IS ALL OBAMA'S FAULT!"

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Blue Dogs assume that any Democrat to the left of Genghis Khan has no chance of winning, so they set about sabotaging their own candidates for fear of being called liberal. If you're a Democrat, even if you don't think your candidate has a chance, why in the fark out you put out comments like this that are tailor-made for Republican attack ads? Why in the fark would you shoot your own candidate in the foot before she has even declared her candidacy? Because these are idiot hand-wringing Blue Dogs and that's just what they do. They're too afraid of their own shadows to actually stand with their party.

I think it's that a Democrat in Kentucky is a Republican in Maryland. A Blue Dog Dem in KY is a TeaBagger in Los Angeles. The reason they're not raking her over the coals is that she's still a Democrat (yay partisanship!), but they hate filthy liberals every bit as much as Republicans do.

They have to be Democrats in an area that is Republican - so they're Republicans but for the name. Still largely anti-abortion, still not quite comfortable with gays, still not in favor of progressive taxation, still not fans of ObamACAre, still not envioronmentalists...you get it.

Ashley Judd is an actual Democrat (dare I say "liberal"?) running in KY. The Blue Dogs are scared that a Democrat might win and expose them for being toadies - "A Democrat can get elected here? I've wasted my life...". Like Ben Nelson, who had to retire rather than lose the next election; or Joe Lieberman who sore-losered his way to one last term.

bronyaur1:SploogeTime: McConnell sucks. Ashley unqualified. BUT, I will take her stained blue panties with the UK insignia. I'd rather vote for Uncle Rukus.

She is not unqualified as far as I know. She is of the minimum age, an American citizen, and resides in the state. Those three things, plus getting oneself elected, are the only qualifications there are.

Hint: She's a Hollywood elitist and a libtard, is what he was fecklessly trying to say. And her #1 priority won't be to oust the President regardless of his policies, so there's that strike against her.

max_pooper:I think the move for Democrats is to try to get McConnell primaried by donating money to the looniest of derpster primary challengers and then donating money to Judd. She may lose but McConnell will no longer be minority leader and the derper moran will be a freshman senator with far less influence that McTurtle.

bronyaur1:SploogeTime: McConnell sucks. Ashley unqualified. BUT, I will take her stained blue panties with the UK insignia. I'd rather vote for Uncle Rukus.

She is not unqualified as far as I know. She is of the minimum age, an American citizen, and resides in the state. Those three things, plus getting oneself elected, are the only qualifications there are.

Well, technically she doesn't reside in the state yet. Her sister Wynona bought her a farm in Tennessee back in the 90's, so she'd be closer to the rest of the family in Nashville. She'd have to set up a residence in KY again to be eligible. . .but she could easily establish a residence in the Commonwealth inside of 24 hours if she wanted it.

In terms of broader job qualifications, as I'd noted, she's got a Master of Public Administration degree in Harvard, that's a graduate-level degree in being a public official. She's got a long record of political activism on a variety of humanitarian and environmental causes. She's clearly educated and well versed in issues not just related to national politics but Kentucky politics.

Compare that to Mitch, whose main credentials before his own political career was having a law degree and being in the US Army Reserve for 6 months during the Vietnam War before he got a medical discharge.

Zasteva:You don't consider her efforts as an activist to be public service? Can public service only be done by working for the government?

Not necessarily, but I feel like it shows some accountability for the system in which you're working in, as well as a desire to learn the framework of compromise in building legislation and meeting with stakeholders.

She is not unqualified as far as I know. She is of the minimum age, an American citizen, and resides in the state. Those three things, plus getting oneself elected, are the only qualifications there are.

SploogeTime:She is not unqualified as far as I know. She is of the minimum age, an American citizen, and resides in the state. Those three things, plus getting oneself elected, are the only qualifications there are.

What will happen is this: She will almost certainly win Lexington. She's a UK alum, one of the most visible UK fans around, a famous name, and Lexington is one of the two major blue strongholds in the state along with Louisville. She'll probably win Louisville as well, although I can't imagine a UofL fan being thrilled about voting for her (yes, the basketball loyalties are that big of a deal here). Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

pointblank79:Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

First of all, she is a native Kentuckian and a UK alum and fan and believe me, she will get a LOT of mileage out of that alone, even in the rural areas. Anybody that says otherwise is simply not familiar with the culture. She also can take Louisville, since it has a strong Democrat contingent, not just with the unions (Ford and UPS are huge employers there) but also with the liberal contingents in the Highlands, Germantown, NuLu areas. Also, having just moved out of KY a mere two months ago, I can tell you anti-Mitch sentiment is fairly strong, even with the derp crowd that probably wants a more Conservative candidate.

Louisville, and pretty much the rest of Kentucky is basically one huge small town. We are kind to our own, and Ashley Judd being a famous, beautiful movie star who is pretty vocal about her Kentucky pride, this will help her tremendously.

Will she win? That I cannot say, but Mitch has a fight in his hands for sure. Even if he attacks her for her stance on coal, she can easily, easily point to a place like Prestonsburg. Coal mining town, sucked dry by the coal industry and pretty much left to farking die. Most depressing place I've ever been to. It's basically a ghost town, with most of its population living in the trailer parks in the surrounding mountains, getting by living below poverty level. It's farking miserable.

Lord_Baull:pointblank79: Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

How much bigger do you think the rural population is vs. urban?

Per the 2010 Census:58% - Metropolitan19% - Micropolitan*23% - Urban

*Micropolitan is defined as a city between 10,000 and 49,999 people. I don't know Kentucky that well but I would assume the demographics of rural areas and cities with less than 50,000 are probably pretty similar.

Lenny and Carl:She almost certainly won't win. Then again, neither will any other Democrat. Judd, however, brings two advantages to the table (besides her fantastic tits).

1. She'll raise a metric farkton of cash. The GOP will have to spend a hell of a lot more money than they would otherwise just to hold a safe seat. That's money they can't spend elsewhere on competitive races.

2. Her name recognition means that the race will be a national story. When some Kentucky state senator calls her a "Hollywood Whore" we'll have 2014's Todd Akin. Some dumbass local level pol won't be able to help himself and he'll be yet another albatross to hang on the necks of Republicans all over the country.

In short, that seat is probably a lost cause. McConnell only won it by 3 points last time around, but that was in 2006 when the Dems won everything. If they couldn't wrest it away from him then they sure won't now. Judd gives them some advantages nationally that they won't have with any other candidate.

McConnell hasn't polled very much ahead of Judd in a head-to-head. Judd's in with a shout if she busts her ass and gets moving.

verbaltoxin:The National DNC is aiming at either a stalemate, a small gain for Dems or small losses for the GOP in '14. They also want Sen. McConnell to bleed money to keep his seat. They want it to be a pyrrhic victory for him. There simply isn't going to be a big sweep in Congress coming soon. So Democrats have to play the "death of a thousand little cuts" game. They see the splitting happening within the Republican Party and want to foment it.

This.

If anything it's an extension of the Obama Era of Democratic politics. The art of politics as trolling.

I also heard on NPR this AM that the Senate Democrats are introducing their own budget; I was like "WTF?!" I'm guessing they've learned from Obama as well and decided to troll House Republicans.

Rwa2play:verbaltoxin: The National DNC is aiming at either a stalemate, a small gain for Dems or small losses for the GOP in '14. They also want Sen. McConnell to bleed money to keep his seat. They want it to be a pyrrhic victory for him. There simply isn't going to be a big sweep in Congress coming soon. So Democrats have to play the "death of a thousand little cuts" game. They see the splitting happening within the Republican Party and want to foment it.

This.

If anything it's an extension of the Obama Era of Democratic politics. The art of politics as trolling.

I also heard on NPR this AM that the Senate Democrats are introducing their own budget; I was like "WTF?!" I'm guessing they've learned from Obama as well and decided to troll House Republicans.

And it's telling that House Republicans' budget proposal was the Ryan Plan v. 2.0. They seriously doubled-down on something that helped lose them the election. Unbelievable. They really learned nothing whatsoever. They really think they can introduce this pig again, watch it get roasted, and think the blame will stick to Democrats. The GOP is utterly bankrupt of ideas, and the Democrats are finally exploiting it.

max_pooper:Lord_Baull: pointblank79: Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

How much bigger do you think the rural population is vs. urban?

Per the 2010 Census:58% - Metropolitan19% - Micropolitan*23% - Urban

*Micropolitan is defined as a city between 10,000 and 49,999 people. I don't know Kentucky that well but I would assume the demographics of rural areas and cities with less than 50,000 are probably pretty similar.

Source

That's... actually a terrible assessement to go by, from what I can tell. It's tallying counties that share any tie whatsoever to the urban/metro regions and counting them in a block: "adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration." But their notion of integration seems a little sketchy.

Example: Clark County. Listed as metropolitan, defined there as tied to "a core urban area of 50,000 or more population," in this case Lexington. Yes, it has a lot of economic ties to Lexington/Fayette: a lot of people in Clark county commute there, because that's where the jobs are. So for the source's purposes, maybe that makes sense.

But practically and politically speaking? Winchester is a half-hour from Lexington on the main highway, separated by a whole lot of not much. The county has a total population of around 35,000- and much of it is poor as dirt, conservative as hell, and once you're off the main highway you could just as easily be walking around an Eastern Kentucky subdivision (although the terrain's more level, and you're slightly more likely to see a real live black person there).

Lord_Baull:pointblank79: Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

How much bigger do you think the rural population is vs. urban?

Population of Kentucky: 4,380,000

Louisville metro: 1,440,000

Lexington metro: 472,000

There are no other cities in the state with populations more than 60,000.

Krieghund:Shrugging Atlas: I'll admit I haven't been following this Judd thing all that closely, but has the woman given any indication at all she's interested in running by word or deed?

I keep seeing things like in TFA, "As she gets closer to an announcement." Of what? Running, not running?

If she truly wasn't interested in running, she could have ended the speculation with a single phone call.Hell, she wouldn't even have needed to make the call, she could have had her agent release a statement.

I don't think her not ending the speculation has anything to do with whether or not she's running. Even if she's not and never, ever intends to run, why put an end to all the bed wetting and money being spent by the GOP over the idea she is? She's probably loving every minute of this.

Wasteland:max_pooper: Lord_Baull: pointblank79: Once you get out into the state, though - she's going to lose, and lose big. Like 70/30 big. Outside of the more urban areas, Kentucky is about as red as it gets. Her path to victory is to try to absolutely crush McConnell in the Lexington/Louisville areas.

How much bigger do you think the rural population is vs. urban?

Per the 2010 Census:58% - Metropolitan19% - Micropolitan*23% - Urban

*Micropolitan is defined as a city between 10,000 and 49,999 people. I don't know Kentucky that well but I would assume the demographics of rural areas and cities with less than 50,000 are probably pretty similar.

Source

That's... actually a terrible assessement to go by, from what I can tell. It's tallying counties that share any tie whatsoever to the urban/metro regions and counting them in a block: "adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration." But their notion of integration seems a little sketchy.

Example: Clark County. Listed as metropolitan, defined there as tied to "a core urban area of 50,000 or more population," in this case Lexington. Yes, it has a lot of economic ties to Lexington/Fayette: a lot of people in Clark county commute there, because that's where the jobs are. So for the source's purposes, maybe that makes sense.

But practically and politically speaking? Winchester is a half-hour from Lexington on the main highway, separated by a whole lot of not much. The county has a total population of around 35,000- and much of it is poor as dirt, conservative as hell, and once you're off the main highway you could just as easily be walking around an Eastern Kentucky subdivision (although the terrain's more level, and you're slightly more likely to see a real live black person there).

Well it's the only published article I could find that broke down the population of Kentucky into percentages of urban and rural areas.